Jurors Spend Second Day Deliberating In Palm Springs Retiree Murder Case

Jurors in the murder trial of two Bay Area men accused of seeking financial gain in the stabbing death of a Palm Springs retiree are expected to resume their deliberations today.

The panelists, who spent about half a day behind closed doors Monday, had indicated to the court they intend to deliberate full days through Wednesday afternoon, then will go home for the holiday period and resume work Jan. 3 if they have failed to reach a verdict.

Accused in the Dec. 5, 2008, stabbing death of 74-year-old Clifford Lambert are Miguel Bustamante, 28, of Daly City, and San Francisco attorney David Replogle, 61.

If convicted, Bustamante, a former Castro District bartender, and Replogle — a Montgomery Street lawyer — would face life prison terms without possibility of parole.

Several other men also face trial in what Deputy District Attorney Lisa DiMaria told jurors was a “massive conspiracy” to loot Lambert of his worldly goods, and to “erase” him so he could not go to the police. He is believed to have been buried in the desert, but his body has not been found.

In his closing argument, Replogle’s attorney, John Patrick Dolan, placed the blame for the killing, and the greed that DiMaria claims motivated it, squarely on the shoulders of Daniel Carlos Garcia and Kaushal Niroula, an acknowledged con man.

DiMaria has called the lot of the defendants “vultures,” sociopaths and con men out to enrich themselves at a lonely and vulnerable man’s expense — literally and figuratively.

Dolan characterized Niroula, a Nepal native who once claimed to be descended from royal blood, a “chameleon” and Garcia as a computer hacker, burglar and identity thief. He said the “greed” theory is “spot on” with respect to those men, who are yet to face trial.

“I don’t think together we could say enough bad things about Kaushal Niroula,” the attorney said.

Dolan contends that Niroula, via text messages, had suggested that Replogle could get his neck cut, or could be the target of a hit unless he followed instructions, and that Niroula impersonated Replogle.

The lawyer, said Dolan, “was threatened, he was coerced, he was intimidated” by Niroula.

Dolan told jurors that Craig McCarthy, who testified for the prosecution, participated in the Lambert killing but will get 25 years and four months when sentenced next month, and should be out in about 20 years or so, after serving 85 percent of his term. He will not face an indeterminate sentence that could have gone much longer, Dolan said.

“And he knows who gave (the lighter sentence) to him and who he owes,” Dolan said, suggesting that McCarthy’s testimony was tailored for the prosecution.

Dolan characterized prosecution witness-informant Arthur Jimenez as a “jailhouse rat” facing life in prison had he not testified against Replogle, and now expected to be out of prison in about 13 years.

Deputy Public Defender Joe Forth, who represents Bustamante, said his client simply is in court because of the people with whom he associated.